Ever After

☾Chapter One☽

"In recent news, Prince Wylliam of Siral and Prince June of Rosenfelle have finished signing the Peace treaty between the two kingdoms. Citizens from everywhere believe that both of the young princes, as future leaders, are setting an example of keeping the peace between all kingdoms of Ethelia. In other news, King-" Ever shut off the Holoprojector, she was tired of hearing the same boring news every day. Plus, there was work to be done, and a few bottles of remedies that she still had not managed to complete. She was behind on her shipments to the Good Cauldron down in the Magic District, and it didn't help that her last delivery boy was eaten by a chimera.

Ever sighed as she looked at the mass of ingredients that sprawled across her table. She sat down on the rickety, old stool and began to pick up where she left off.

Suddenly, the door flung open and a particular overly cheerful fairy burst in.

"Good morning Ever!" Ever sighed and glanced up at the projected clock on the wall.

"Its almost noon."

"Okay, so I'm a bit late." Aubergine shrugged sitting down in the worn armchair.

"Watch out." Ever said nonchalantly as a vine tried to grab at Aubergine from the nearby shelf. Aubergine shrieked and stood up quickly.

"You need to put that thing in a very thin barred cage or something!" Ever laughed, getting up from her work.

She grabbed the carnivorous plant from its shelf and placed it on the counter. Ever opened the fridge and took out a small dish of strawberries.

"You feed them strawberries?" Aubergine put a hand on her side as Ever gave each head of the three-headed plant some fruit.

"What? They're vegan.... Sometimes."

"Vegan?" Aubergine mocked. "More like cannibals." Ever shrugged.

"I never said that I supported their lifestyle."

"You and that cursed plant." Aubergine crossed her arms. Ever put her hands over the sides of the plant.

"Don't say that. It was a spell gone wrong, so what? They were too cute to get rid of."

"Too cute, huh? Tell that to the adorable animals they've probably devoured."

"Look that was one time!" Ever threw her hands into the air.

"Four."

"And besides I named them, and we all know that once you name something you can't get rid of it."

"You named a three-headed, man eating plant?"

"Yes, I did. Thank you very much. Their names are Chompy, George, and Wysteria, for your information." Aubergine sighed in defeat.

Then, she quickly perked up. "Oh! I nearly forgot. You have mail." Aubergine handed Ever a scroll.

"Mail?" Ever examined the scroll in her hands with a raised brow. Not even King Cornelius uses scrolls anymore. She unrolled the silky white paper and looked up for a second. "Auber I'm not in the mood for pranks."

"What do you mean?" Aubergine looked just as confused as Ever. She moved closer to her so she could look at the scroll. "That's really strange? It's just lines in different positions?"

"It must be in another language." Ever rolled the scroll back up and stuffed it inside her bag on the table.

"Its not any Fae language, I know that much."

"Hmm well... I suppose while you're helping me with deliveries we can see if someone can translate it." Ever grinned.

"Hey! Wait!" Ever shoved a box of vials in Aubergine's hands as she began to protest. "Just so you know I didn't agree to this!" Aubergine argued as she followed Ever out the door of the hut.

"I know." Ever turned around and stuck her tongue out at Aubergine.

The ground squished under Ever's black boots. She set her and Aubergine's boxes onto the back of the truck and got in the front seat. Ever pulled down the mirror above her and pulled her black and white hair into a ponytail.

"You ready?" She asked.

 

"I guess." Aubergine sighed.

***

 

 

They reached the Magic District; tall towers and long buildings lined the cobble streets. Ever pulled in front of The Good Cauldron, which was a rundown bar and magic store. Ever picked up her box from the trunk and walked inside, the soft bell signaling her entrance.

"Ah Ever!" The stout dwarf from behind the store counter climbed down from his stool. Ever placed her box on the counter and her and Aubergine began to sort through it.

"That should be everything." Ever looked around at the scarce bar. There were a couple patrons, but they seemed either terribly drunk or shady.

"Slow day?" Ever smirked at the red headed dwarf working the bar. The dwarf looked up at her and smiled before returning to his work and delivering another drink to the patron already falling off his chair.

"Here, Ever. This should be everything I owe you." The dwarf behind the shop counter handed Ever a small bag of gold. She opened it and examined its contents.

"I seem to be short a few." She said sternly.

"Your shipment was late." The dwarf clicked his tongue. Ever adjusted her weight and rested her elbow on the counter.

"My delivery boy was eaten. So therefore, I had to spend extra time to get it delivered myself, and I have many customers to attend to you know." Ever smiled sweetly.

"That's not an excuse." The dwarf showed no sign of budging, so Ever decided to lay the charm on thick.

"Not to mention having to work so far away in the swamp, all by myself."

"Ever. I've got a family to feed."

Ever slammed her fists down onto the counter making everyone in the bar jump. "And I've got ingredients to buy so either I get paid in full or this is your last delivery! Good luck finding another witch willing to make you some remedies, pretty sure I'm the only one out there." Ever turned to leave.

The dwarf growled, "Fine." He took back the bag and added a few more gold coins.

"Thank you." Ever snatched the bag away from him. "Pleasure doing business with you." She smiled.

Aubergine grabbed the half empty box from the counter and followed Ever out of the store.

"Just a few more deliveries and then I know someone who might have an idea about this scroll." Ever patted her bag.

"'You know you didn't have to be so harsh?" Aubergine spoke softly.

"He sells me short every delivery. Greedy Dwarfs. Unlucky for him I was the one to make this delivery." Ever smirked. Aubergine sighed and started to braid her long purple hair.

"Besides, he doesn't actually have a family." Ever added.